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i did a search on the diy forum and found lots of information and opinion plus experience from actual users. who knew that the "search" function could be so useful?!

thanks usaret, i'm going to try the extractor and compare quantity in vs quantity out. i also will examine the filter after each change and be looking for any evidence of extra grit/metal. i'll post my findings in 18 to 24 months so stay tuned.

Extractors always leave residue in the pan. Kind of like getting all of your milkshake with the glass sitting on the table and without moving your straw around.

Agreed - but it does vary depending on vehicle.

I think with the X3 if you move the feed tube around when it seems to be finished you can get just about all of it.

Or at least as much as you would get with a conventional drain - but that also varies between engine pan designs.
The M54 engine has the drain plug coming off horizontally, whereas the N52 is more vertical.

The design of the drain plug is brilliant as it is straight down with a 1/2 inch metal downshift to prevent drips on the undercover (at least on the n52 motor). The filter housing is on top of the motor and you can use a ziplock bag turned inside out to remove the filter from the housing.

Not hard to do the proper way and common sense would dictate that the extractor only has the potential of doing a poor job and not of doing a better job. The milkshake analogy was a good one I thought.

I would check with dealers in your area, mine has an oil change special from time to time. The benefit of them doing it is they do an inspection while they are at it which never hurts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by x3brian

The oil change on the motor is so simple I don't see the point.

The design of the drain plug is brilliant as it is straight down with a 1/2 inch metal downshift to prevent drips on the undercover (at least on the n52 motor). The filter housing is on top of the motor and you can use a ziplock bag turned inside out to remove the filter from the housing.

Not hard to do the proper way and common sense would dictate that the extractor only has the potential of doing a poor job and not of doing a better job. The milkshake analogy was a good one I thought.

I would check with dealers in your area, mine has an oil change special from time to time. The benefit of them doing it is they do an inspection while they are at it which never hurts.

Do you have any evidence this is true?

__________________

“Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught.”

The design of the drain plug is brilliant as it is straight down with a 1/2 inch metal downshift to prevent drips on the undercover (at least on the n52 motor). The filter housing is on top of the motor and you can use a ziplock bag turned inside out to remove the filter from the housing.

Total job takes less than 20 minutes.

you're 100% correct on the points you've made. what i expect to be the main advantage (for me) is having the oil extracted into a container vs pouring from a catch pan into a container.

the extractor could end up in the cabinet reserved for "good ideas - bad reality" items. but i won't tell you if it does end up there because i'm overly sensitive to being wrong.

That is a great point and one I never considered. What I have is a sealed oil bin that i can drain straight from the engine provided by my city. i call them up the day before garbage pickup and they exchange it with an empty one. Makes it super easy.

But I like the idea of an extractor to the jug with a twist. What if you drain it the normal way and then run the extractor from the drain pan to a gallon milk jug.

Takes me 20 mins. just to get the old drain plug washer off, the old O-ring off the filter cap, pre-oil the new filter and clean out the old oil in the base of the filter housing.

Total time is about the same for the extractor method - the benefits are:
- you don't have to get under the vehicle so can wear your best clothes to do it
- no risk of breaking the drain plug or forgetting to re-install it

Of course, if you have an N52 engine without a dipstick you don't have the option.

But done properly, I am sure I have read where measured tests (by car owners) show that it can remove all the oil.

My own personal experience using my vacuum extractor where I can see what I'm getting. If you have a vacuum extractor you can do your own test. If you're happy with the results..... ignore my statement.

My own personal experience using my vacuum extractor where I can see what I'm getting. If you have a vacuum extractor you can do your own test. If you're happy with the results..... ignore my statement.

I will, no offense.

I just wanted to correct some misconceptions in this thread. A Mityvac 7400 7.3l vacuum extractor will get more oil, more effectively, from the sump than gravity drain, for any BMW M54 engine. I along with many others have proven this over and over.

No jacking or ramps are required. The pump allows no contact with carcinogenic used engine oil. It is received in an enclosed container for ease of recycling. From drive in to hood down, the oil and filter can be changed in 15 to 30 minutes. The beer is optional.

I just wanted to correct some misconceptions in this thread. A Mityvac 7400 7.3l vacuum extractor will get more oil, more effectively, from the sump than gravity drain, for any BMW M54 engine. I along with many others have proven this over and over.

No jacking or ramps are required. The pump allows no contact with carcinogenic used engine oil. It is received in an enclosed container for ease of recycling. From drive in to hood down, the oil and filter can be changed in 15 to 30 minutes. The beer is optional.

We're talking about different things. I'm not that concerned with getting all the oil out as the galleys, pump and lifters (on cars with hydraulic lifters) are full of it. What I was talking about is the thin black film of sediment that collects on the bottom of the pan. I'm probably being too anal and even with an extractor it probably won't build up to a level where it can be sucked up into the pickup screen. But I still prefer opening the plug and letting the flowing oil carry as much out with it as possible.

We're talking about different things. I'm not that concerned with getting all the oil out as the galleys, pump and lifters (on cars with hydraulic lifters) are full of it. What I was talking about is the thin black film of sediment that collects on the bottom of the pan. I'm probably being too anal and even with an extractor it probably won't build up to a level where it can be sucked up into the pickup screen. But I still prefer opening the plug and letting the flowing oil carry as much out with it as possible.

Gotcha.

I've actually heard some old school guys put in diesel (?) into the sump a few hundred miles prior to oil change as a solvent. Not sure I'd do that, but I suspect it would clean out the pipes.

Either way, drain or suck, regular changes with good clean oil and filter will do wonders for engine longevity.

__________________

“Character is doing the right thing when nobody’s looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that’s right is to get by, and the only thing that’s wrong is to get caught.”

I've actually heard some old school guys put in diesel (?) into the sump a few hundred miles prior to oil change as a solvent. Not sure I'd do that, but I suspect it would clean out the pipes.

Either way, drain or suck, regular changes with good clean oil and filter will do wonders for engine longevity.

I'm one of those old school guys (my first car had an oil bath air breather and a glass sediment bowl for a fuel filter). I used kerosene once and it was only for a heavily sludged engine. It broke so much loose that after a few miles it would clog the pickup screen and I would lose oil pressure. I would have to shut the engine off to let the sludge settle and go again. I eventually had to take the pan off and scrape it out.

I actually do this on my e46 all the time with no issues. I did a write up on e46F last year (http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=852056). Usually after the 3rd time doing it, I'll jack the car up and replace the nut and crush on the oil pan. I plan on doing this for my E83 I just purchased 2 days ago!

I dont see why? takes the risk off of having to get the car up in there air as well as allows you to do other things while the oil changes itself.

If my work wouldnt do changes for me I would buy one of those so I can set it to suck and go work on my various projects around the house. with 6 cars at the house and it giving back 30 mins of time per oil change I would say it payed for itself after 1 round of changes.

I dont see why? takes the risk off of having to get the car up in there air as well as allows you to do other things while the oil changes itself.

If my work wouldnt do changes for me I would buy one of those so I can set it to suck and go work on my various projects around the house. with 6 cars at the house and it giving back 30 mins of time per oil change I would say it payed for itself after 1 round of changes.

+1, I don't understand how this would be stupid. (Then again, I do this on my e46 so its obviously lower than my X3) Everyone keeps talking about this "milkshake" effect, but honestly how much oil do you think is left over...The extractor holds 6.9 qts, and whenver I do this change it always fills up. Even if there is oil left over its not going to harm your engine.

I've been doing this for the last 5 oil changes, no issues whatsoever.

Only reason why I do this is because
1) its cheaper than having someone else do it
2) Don't have to jack up the car
3) Don't have to get under the car
4) I live in an Apt/Townhouse, I do not have my own driveway, so being able to do this in a parking spot is much easier.

is anyone using the engine oil extractor pump that pull oil up through the dip stick tube?

if so, what is your opinion of the process compared to the conventional method of draining oil?

the independent shop charges $108.00 for an oil change and uses Mobil 1.

an extractor at Bavauto is $90.00, 7 qts of 0 W40 at auto zone is $63.00 and a Mann filter is $8.00.

i always manage to spill oil when i do a diy so i go to the independent shop. the extractor looks like an easy solution, and in three oil changes it would pay for itself.

Before you go investing in a oil extractor if you decide to, do a search on BMW dealers that run specials in your area on oil and filter changes. got mine changed for $59.95 and they even fill all the fluids and give you a safety check for the same price. Good luck
cheers
vern

+1, I don't understand how this would be stupid. (Then again, I do this on my e46 so its obviously lower than my X3) Everyone keeps talking about this "milkshake" effect, but honestly how much oil do you think is left over...The extractor holds 6.9 qts, and whenver I do this change it always fills up. Even if there is oil left over its not going to harm your engine.

I've been doing this for the last 5 oil changes, no issues whatsoever.

Only reason why I do this is because
1) its cheaper than having someone else do it
2) Don't have to jack up the car
3) Don't have to get under the car
4) I live in an Apt/Townhouse, I do not have my own driveway, so being able to do this in a parking spot is much easier.

The milkshake effect I was referring to is the thin film that I've always found on the bottom of engine oil pans I've opened up. It would seem to me that the process of sucking the oil out from the top would allow this film (of what I suspect is settled debris from combustion blow-by) to build up over time. As I said before I may be too anal about this but pulling the plug makes me feel better. That being said I have a 24' x 30' fully equipped shop to do my work in and I'm retired so I have nothing but time. Plus my county takes used oil at what they call Environmal Collection Centers of which there are two within a short drive of my house. If I lived in an apartment in the city (the thought of which makes me cringe).... I would probably do it your way and just live with it. Of course mine is an '09 with an N52 engine which has no dipstick so I only have one choice.

The milkshake effect I was referring to is the thin film that I've always found on the bottom of engine oil pans I've opened up. It would seem to me that the process of sucking the oil out from the top would allow this film (of what I suspect is settled debris from combustion blow-by) to build up over time. As I said before I may be too anal about this but pulling the plug makes me feel better. That being said I have a 24' x 30' fully equipped shop to do my work in and I'm retired so I have nothing but time. Plus my county takes used oil at what they call Environmal Collection Centers of which there are two within a short drive of my house. If I lived in an apartment in the city (the thought of which makes me cringe).... I would probably do it your way and just live with it. Of course mine is an '09 with an N52 engine which has no dipstick so I only have one choice.

If I remember correctly quite awhile ago in the days of the dip stick it was posted that some dealers drained the oil this way through the dip stick. That being said ,it can't be that bad as some make it out to be.
Good luck
cheers
vern

The extractor tube hits the bottom of the oil pan so it gets practically everything. If anything I thought it would remain on the side walls because when you do it from the bottom it has time to fall to the bottom.